This Is the Path the Wolf Took

As “Sir” Gabriel reads his own rendition of Little Red Riding Hood and The Three Little Pigs to his little sister Mia, she’s quick to point out that his retelling is different from their mom and dad’s, and, in her opinion, nowhere near as good. Why? Because Sir Gabriel quickly dispenses of the wolf—and hence most of the plot—in both stories, allowing calmness and ice cream sundaes to reign supreme. After being abandoned by his audience, Sir Gabriel soon discovers that without the wolf, he has nothing to do but untie and retie his shoes ad nauseum and sell his sword at a garage sale “since he really wasn’t using it anymore” and has become the “hero of a very boring story.” When Gabriel realizes that life’s story is more interesting when there’s opposition, struggle, and discomfort, and everything won’t always be smooth sailing and ice cream sundaes, he sets out to tell a new story. While in the end still nothing bad happens, he chooses to face such a possibility with courage, and that makes all the difference. In both concept and message, this fractured fairy tale has boundless potential, but it unfortunately leaves some of it unrealized and readers wishing for a little more. The distinctive style of the illustrations is fun, matching the lighthearted merging of imagination and reality in the story.